And at that moment, in Class One of the second year.
At the front of the classroom, the teacher was carefully explaining the classifications and habits of various Soul Beasts.
Sunlight streamed in through the wide floor-to-ceiling windows.
The classroom was quiet. Most of the students were practically dozing off; they had little interest in this kind of Martial Soul Theory.
So the only sound in the entire classroom was the teacher's steady lecture, echoing without a single response, much like a university class.
However, the atmosphere by the window in the front row seemed somewhat peculiar.
Meng Hongchen folded her arms across her chest, her pretty cheeks puffed out slightly as she deliberately turned her head away.
She looked every bit like a young miss who was very angry.
Her cherry-red hair fell over her shoulders, shimmering in the sunlight.
{Truthfully, I liked both.}
Beside her,
Xu Tianyao wore an utterly helpless smile as he tried to placate her, leaning over now and then to whisper something.
His ingratiating manner nearly made Meng Hongchen lose her composure several times.
In the end, she forced herself to put on a stern little face again.
But the corners of her mouth had already betrayed her, tilting upward ever so slightly.
Behind the two of them,
a profoundly resentful gaze remained fixed on Xu Tianyao.
Xiao Hongchen sat with his arms folded across his chest, his expression shifting between light and dark.
Especially when he saw his precious little sister secretly blushing because of Xu Tianyao,
the veins on his forehead twitched, and his fists clenched so tightly they creaked.
My sister's been stolen away, but I can do nothing about it.
I want to use my strength to reclaim everything that once belonged to me, only to discover that I'm no match for him. Nothing in the world could be more despairing!
These successive blows were hard for Xiao Hongchen, who had always thought highly of himself and held his head high, to accept.
As a once-in-a-century genius of the Hongchen Family,
his Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul was among the very best in the entire Sun Moon Empire.
Its metal attribute was so powerful that it was even nearing the level of ultimate metal!
Yet he had ended up facing Xu Tianyao.
That overbearing Sunlight Martial Soul possessed an ultimate fire attribute, almost as if it were born to counter metal-type Martial Souls.
Every time they sparred, the attacks he took pride in were melted and dispersed by that terrifying heat before they could get anywhere near their target.
Whenever Xiao Hongchen thought of it, he looked at Xu Tianyao with even greater grief and indignation.
Xu Tianyao, however, remained completely oblivious.
At that moment, he was secretly holding Meng Hongchen's cool, soft hand.
Lowering his voice, he said, "Mengmeng, trust me."
"Once Shrek gets back to us and the exchange student program officially gets underway, I'll find a way to take you along."
"It'll be our first time leaving the Sun Moon Empire."
"The continent's number-one academy, the continent's number-one Soul Beast forest, a continent where gods once appeared... There are so many places waiting for us to see."
"How about we think of it as a trip?"
"It'll be such a memorable experience."
As Meng Hongchen listened to Xu Tianyao describe their future and looked into his fervent eyes,
the stern little face she had deliberately put on gradually took on a hint of longing.
Having lived in Ming Capital since she was a child,
the world outside held an irresistible allure for her.
More importantly, once she left the Sun Moon Empire, her grandfather wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her. If he couldn't keep an eye on them, would this annoying guy then...
Perhaps it was something she thought of, for a blush spread across Meng Hongchen's fair cheeks.
Her mind had already begun to conjure up all sorts of scenes.
They would attend class together during the day, cultivate together, and wander around Shrek Academy together.
They might even spend the evenings together, discussing insights into cultivation. (Right, discussing insights. Studying, that's all.)
Inseparable, joined at the hip.
By the end, a sweet smile had risen to the girl's lips of its own accord.
That scene happened to be seen clearly by Xiao Hongchen behind them.
"Crack."
The Soul Tool pen in Xiao Hongchen's hand snapped cleanly in two.
Though he sat there expressionless, his heart had already shattered into a thousand pieces.
The pain of being an overprotective big brother!
One week later, at Shrek Academy.
Today was the day Qian Duoduo officially returned to the academy. Mu En and the others were all eager to hear what he had gained from this visit to the Sun Moon Empire.
So as soon as Qian Duoduo returned to the academy, they urgently convened a Sea God Pavilion Meeting.
The Sea God Pavilion was silent.
The gentle light given off by the Golden Ancient Tree streamed down from the dome, draping the entire Sea God Pavilion in a hazy veil.
In the seat of honor, Mu En was still resting in his wheelchair. His aged face looked as though he might drift off at any moment.
Xuan Zi leaned nearby, drinking from his flask. Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei'er, Qian Duoduo, Xian Lin'er, and the other elders were all present.
Even Zhang Lexuan, who was usually occupied with matters of the inner academy, stood quietly beside the old man, listening to everyone's discussion.
A moment later, Mu En slowly opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze settling on Qian Duoduo.
"Duoduo." His aged voice rang through the Sea God Pavilion.
"Tell us."
"What did you see on your trip to the Sun Moon Empire?"
"And how did the few things I asked you to take care of before you left go?"
"Yes."
At once, Qian Duoduo rose and respectfully saluted Mu En before taking a stack of neatly arranged documents from his Storage Soul Tool.
Clearly, before returning to the academy, he had already organized and compiled all his observations from the trip.
His gaze swept over everyone present before he began. "Elders, on this trip, I was ordered by the academy to lead the Shrek delegation to the Sun Moon Empire and attend the coronation ceremony of its new emperor, Xu Tianran."
"Next, I'll report what I learned during the visit."
As he spoke, he opened the first page of his documents.
"First, the Sun Moon Empire's current attitude toward Shrek Academy and the Douluo Three Kingdoms."
At that, everyone grew more serious. This was the issue they cared about most.
Qian Duoduo said, "During the coronation ceremony, Xu Tianran did not meet with us in person."
"The one in charge of receiving the Shrek delegation throughout the visit was the Sun Moon Empire's regent, Prince Ming Xu Tianyao, who was also Xu Tianran's younger brother."
"And based on what I observed during this time, although Xu Tianyao is still young, he wields tremendous influence within the Sun Moon Empire."
"Whether it's the court ministers, the military's upper ranks, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, or Mingde Hall, they all treat him with great respect."
"Many important matters are also decided by him personally."
At this, quite a few of the elders in the Sea God Pavilion nodded slightly. They had clearly committed this unfamiliar name to memory.
Qian Duoduo continued, "Based on my exchanges with Xu Tianyao, the Sun Moon Empire has no plans to wage war in the near future."
"At least for the next few years, its focus will remain on domestic reform and development."
"Besides that, under Xu Tianyao's leadership, the Sun Moon Empire's Ministry of Commerce also took the initiative to reach a new trade agreement with the Three Kingdoms."
"It allows both sides to resume and expand trade."
"Although strategic resources are still strictly restricted, trade in ordinary goods and some Soul Tool technologies has gradually begun to open up."
"Taken together, these developments suggest that the Sun Moon Empire currently favors building its national strength and quietly accumulating power over immediately launching a war."
Xuan Zi set down his wine flask, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
The other elders nodded thoughtfully.
Before you continue